Discuss Not too happy with this work... in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Excuse me........i am a Domestic installer and would not leave work looking like that.....and a couple of months ago spent 2 days rectifying what you call an ELECTRICIANS work who was time served and all that............so his work was a total disgrace......when asked about a cert for additional sockets he didnt have a clue what the client was on about....
Your right, some people do shoddy work, qualified or unqualified. To me the pics look a bit shoddy but not technically wrong.. I was miserable yesterday but what I'm getting at is some people who aren't trained do shoddy work, but unfortunately they have no idea, they think they are doing a great job ! Ive seen people promoting their businesses with pictures of work they carried out, and the pics were worse then this. :)

You descibe work you have put right, for q start I wouldn't call that person an electrician. sure this chap who you followed up told everybody he was a qualified, but he would be aware of testing, if he is with a scheme report him.
 
We did NOT plan to get this wall replastered and wanted to keep the original wallpaper. It looks a state and regardless of whether access will be needed there for future work, I think much more care could have been taken when fitting the new unit. I'm actually shocked that anybody would say I'm overreacting...
How did you expect him to get the cables to the consumer unit? Without chasing? Would surface clipped or trunking be acceptable? Probably lack of communication.

If the original cables were just 'plastered in' above the original consumer unit, its quite possible (and not uncommon) that in removing them the plaster and wall crumbled away.
We used to 'make good' but when clients criticised our attempts at making good (we are electricians NOT plasterers), we decided that we would always put …. 'making good excluded' as a note to our quotes.

As far as leaving service gap behind kitchen units....our plan was to fit freestanding custom made wooden units
Was this communicated to the electrician.

Was it suggested that the pipework might be 'boxed in'? Might be another reason why the cables come out in front of the skirtings!

As you say you are a 'first time' renovator and there will be many more lessons to learn!!
 
We used to 'make good' but when clients criticised our attempts at making good (we are electricians NOT plasterers), we decided that we would always put …. 'making good excluded' as a note to our quotes.
Don't know how many times I've had to explain that I'm not a plasterer. Some people seem to think that a bit of bonding to hold things in place should have an amazing finish.
 
Is that lead water pipe (with a join/repair) above the consumer unit, might fail again above the cu. Not safe replace. Seems like the new 15mm pipe is touching the old19 mm pipe as well as the wires hanging down the wall. Why not leave the twin skt in the same place? Do I want to use this worker?
 
Your right, some people do shoddy work, qualified or unqualified. To me the pics look a bit shoddy but not technically wrong.. I was miserable yesterday but what I'm getting at is some people who aren't trained do shoddy work, but unfortunately they have no idea, they think they are doing a great job ! Ive seen people promoting their businesses with pictures of work they carried out, and the pics were worse then this. :)

You descibe work you have put right, for q start I wouldn't call that person an electrician. sure this chap who you followed up told everybody he was a qualified, but he would be aware of testing, if he is with a scheme report him.
Oh no....he was qualified...thirty years a sparks,industrial only.......he admitted he didnt do a lot of domestic work.......so what im saying is,he should stick to what he knows,the same as i would not attempt to do anything i wasnt sure of ie industrial. I would rather stick to domestic and do a nice job than try and do a job im not capable of and mess it up......exactly what he should have done......
 
What did you agree with the guy regarding making good before work commenced? Also, those cables going to the kitchen socket is pretty rough that could do with being chased in properly. Having major structural work such as a rewire will undoubtedly cause minor damage to the building, were you aware of this?
 
It's shoddy work but unless it's unsafe the chances are no certifying body will take an interest. Technically it should be certified before allowing customer use but that's a regulation that's often glossed over for practical purposes.

Without getting bogged down in rights and wrongs the object now is to get on with the job in the quickest way that gets a result. Take a detached view and decide what's important to you and what you can put down to experience, and move on. Your pictures don't show the whole story but I'd take the holes in the plaster on the chin but insist on routing the wires behind the skirting, for example.

When you've defined the limits discuss it with the contractor to see if he'll work with you. If not, thank him for his time and get someone else in and quote a) for getting it to your minimum standard and b) to do the rest of the work. Deduct part a) from the first contractor's invoice and continue with the job (and your life).

That's assuming the contractor can show you he has current authority to certify the work, if not, skip the discussion and get someone who can.

p.s. It's none of my business but if your partner can't be supportive then suggests he takes a large dose of festive shut the f*** up. You're on a learning curve and we all get caught out sometimes.
 
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The photo of the consumer unit has a couple of things
They are not meant to be at that height- I usually give the client the option of keeping the meter in the same place and relocating the consumer unit

The holes where the cables go up to the roof- the electrician has deliberately taken the cables behind the decorative coving and not wrecked it- many would have burst that, so a plus point on that

The cables in front of the skirting is a bit rough

Is the electrician registered - NICEIC or SELECT in Scotland

If so you can ask them about him.

In the first instance you have to let the electrician know what is wrong and give him a chance to fix it.
 
I think you're massively over reacting and need to give the sparky a chance to finish the job. Customers like yourselves coming on forums like this slagging off your sparky because he hasn't made good is unacceptable. Youve clearly no idea how the construction industry works, it sounds like you've no idea about renovating and you need to read your quote properly and discuss with your spark.
 
Have you not got some of the wallpaper and paint spare? How was you expecting the electrician to get the cables down to the consumer unit if he had put it up to the ceiling there would have been an undecorated wall where the old one was. I can see that from the photo. Communication between both parties is key.
 
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I can't see the problem with having to repaper a wall and paint some others. In the big scheme of things it's very minor.
 
Post pictures when hes totally finished please. Not the best practice with the cabkes infront of the skirting but cant see much else mid job wrong?

Hate clients like this. Nothing on his quote to make good, most would put some fillar in the holes though, all be it not close. To a decorators finish
 
I'm always split on how I feel about this kind of situation. An OP that doesn't know to expect a certificate and to be thorough about what is included in a quote? I understand a lot of people don't have the experience to know that is important.

But on the other hand, I feel that anyone that owns probably several hundred thousand pounds worth of property, should do the research ahead of inviting someone in to fiddle with it. At the end of the day, the OP is a project manager.. And has failed themselves to a degree.

I'm just glad the spark, or installer, is at least expecting to come back for more work and isn't yet paid - that's a fairly good point for the OP to negotiate from.

Best of luck.
 
We're first time house renovators and recently had an electrician in to replace the main board and rewire the kitchen.

I'm really not too happy with the results. There are cables coming out of the wall below the sockets and running back into the floor, multiple holes around sockets and where old sockets were and worst of all an absolutely huge hole in our hallway above the new main board.

On speaking to the electrician he's advised he doesn't do plastering- but I had assumed he would at least make good after doing the rewire- whether that was included in the additional quote or would be at additional cost.

As a complete newbie to having a rewire and any kind of electrical work done, am I overreacting? It doesn't look as professional as I would have expected....And the cables coming out of the wall and then into the floor dont seem right either.

I'd like to have a chat with him about it but not really sure what to say and how things should look. Not like this, I'm sure!

Anybody?

View attachment 46601

View attachment 46602

View attachment 46603

View attachment 46604
 
Electrician not magician

Reminds me of a job I looked at where after explaining that there would be holes cut in the ceiling (flat roof) and chases made in the walls
in order to execute the work, a
nd making good/redecoration will be required afterwards, the client said …….
"Oh! I thought there was something 'magic' you could do"
She was deadly serious but clearly no idea of what was involved in getting a cable from A to B!
 

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